What drag queen Sherry Pie did to disqualify on ‘Drag Race’ season 12

If you’ve been following this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race at all, you may have noticed that one face out of the 13 queens was not involved in the virtual reunion. In fact, she seemed to basically not exist at all in season 12. 

Sherry Pie may have made the top 4, but she was disqualified before she was even able to walk out into the workroom. This was huge, as only one other queen had been kicked from Drag Race, and even that had to do with contract violations and occurred during the filming, not after. 

So, what exactly did Sherry Pie do to get kicked from Drag Race season 12? Simply put, she pretended to be a casting agent and got five young actors to film themselves doing embarrassing things on camera. 

Caught catfishing

All of the victims Pie went after were men that she went to SUNY Cortland with or worked with at a Nebraska theater company. These men were emailed by Pie posing as a casting agent for a variety of projects.

Hiding behind a computer screen, Pie would give these men ridiculous tasks to film themselves doing under the premise they were auditioning. One of the men, David Newman, was told he was auditioning for a Nightmare Before Christmas musical, and was told to film scenes while wearing a tank top and shorts. 

Another, Ben Shimkus, was told to film scenes as a man taking steroids bulking up and trying to be more manly. Worst of all though, one of the men was told to masturbate on camera as part of the audition process to feel more manly and give a more convincing performance. 

Has she apologized?

Right before the Buzzfeed News story came out with the story about the allegations against Sherry Pie, she posted to her Facebook page with an apology. Acknowledging she had some mental health issues and self-image issues that caused her to act out, she apologized to the victims, her fellow season 12 queens, and World of Wonder. 

But an apology doesn’t mean anything, and World of Wonder disqualified Sherry the same day of her debut on Drag Race season 12. To respect the rest of the queens who put in the work for the rest of the season, they let the season continue to air, cutting out Sherry Pie as much as they possibly could. 

Helping through pain 

Sadly, it’s clear that Sherry Pie could’ve taken home the crown if her history wasn’t as muddy. She won two competitions, and made it to the top 4. Of course, she wasn’t invited to the finale or the reunion episode, and the rest of the queens made it clear they’re calling season 12 the season of 12 queens. 

But to help make it clear they do not stand behind Sherry Pie and her actions, VH1 and World of Wonder matched all the prize money Pie won and donated it to the Trevor Project. It’s a shame that season 12 was shrouded in so much controversy, but we’re glad to see that VH1 and World of Wonder stands by the victims and not the abuser.